Sports

Stanton Bruises Wrist In Marlins' 6-1 Loss To Cubs

June 18, 2014 / 7:07 PM EDT / CBS Miami

MIAMI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton felt no pain when he hit his 20th home run Wednesday. His bruised left wrist hurt only when he swung and missed.

The Miami Marlins right fielder injured his wrist when he ran into the wall chasing a flyball in the first inning. He homered in the bottom of the first but departed after six innings, compounding the sting of a 6-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Stanton said the injury wasn't serious, and he expected to be back in the lineup Thursday against the New York Mets. But he said his wrist bothered him more as the game progressed, and it was swollen after the game.

"It was getting tighter and tighter," he said. "On swings and misses, it hurts a lot."

Stanton hasn't missed a game this season, and he leads the NL in homers and RBIs with 57. That's why manager Mike Redmond took no chances with the injury.

"We need this guy for the long haul," Redmond said. "He wanted to stay in, but I'm thinking about tomorrow and the next day."

The Cubs' big lead made the decision easier. Jake Arrieta shook off the early homer and had a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings, and Nate Schierholtz hit a three-run homer.

Schierholtz was in a 3-for-26 slump before he hit his third homer off Nathan Eovaldi (4-3) in the Cubs' four-run sixth. Eovaldi allowed five runs in six-plus innings, the latest in a succession of shaky starts by the Marlins' rotation.

"I fell apart in the sixth," Eovaldi said. "They put together some good at-bats, and I just left the ball in the middle."

Eovaldi, back from paternity leave after joining his wife in Texas for the birth of their first child Monday, declined to blame any distractions for his performance.

"You've got to be able to come back and perform," he said. "If anything, I was excited to get back to the guys and play."

The Marlins struck out 14 times. They went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and went 4 for 30 in those situations in the series.

Arrieta (3-1) allowed five hits and one walk and lowered his ERA to 1.98.

"He was using his cutter in good spots and staying on the corners," Stanton said. "He did a good job."

Stanton was hurt when Chris Coghlan doubled in the first inning. Stanton retreated to the warning track but the ball popped out of his glove, and he then hit the wall.

In the bottom of the inning, Stanton winced after one swing, then homered.

"I saw him grimace his first at-bat, but then he hit the home run and I wasn't too concerned," Redmond said.

The homer was the first allowed by Arrieta in his past five starts, and it ended his streak of 17 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings.

The Cubs had 13 hits, including four in a row in the sixth. Castro made it 2-0 with an RBI double, and after Ryan Sweeney singled, Schierholtz homered into the upper deck in right field.

NOTES: The Marlins plan to recall RHP Kevin Gregg from Triple-A New Orleans on Thursday, and C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (concussion) will be activated from the disabled list. To make room for them, the Marlins optioned LHP Dan Jennings to New Orleans and optioned C J.T. Realmuto to Double-A Jacksonville. ... Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade sat next to Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in the second row and drew a big ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard. ... LHP Randy Wolf, who was designed for assignment Monday by the Marlins, opted for free agency. ... A Marlins promotion for disadvantaged children boosted attendance to 27,032. ... Marlins RHP Steve Cishek turned 28 Wednesday. ... When torrential rain with wind gusts of up to 53 mph hit during Tuesday's game, the Marlins' retractable roof leaked in six or seven places, which was to be expected given the severity of the storm, team president David Samson said. ... Marlins LHP Andrew Heaney makes his major-league debut Thursday against the New York Mets and RHP Zack Wheeler (2-7, 4.38).